Course Syllabus

Fall 2024-Intro to Psych-Syllabus-3.docx

Course Syllabus

Sussex County Community College

Fall 2024

PSYC 101-OD (3 cr.) Introduction to Psychology

 

Catalog Description:

This course is an introduction to the science of human behavior and mental processes.  Emphasis is placed on the relationship between the nervous system and behavior, learning, perception, development, motivation, personality, attitude formation and prejudice, psychopathology and psychotherapy.

Professor:      Gina D’Angelo, MA.

                        Email: gdangelo@sussex.edu

 

Office Hours: By appointment via video conference. 

 

This is an online course.  You are expected to have the computer skills to successfully complete the course. 

1. You alone are responsible for meeting all the requirements/assignments for this course.
2. You will need access to a computer and internet connectivity.
3. If for any reason your personal system fails you are still responsible to do the assignments on a timely basis. You may use a friend’s computer, go to the local library, or even complete the assignment online from the college campus.
4. Email communications for this course and assignments will only be accepted via Canvas or Sussex County Community College email.
5. You are expected to have the required texts listed below.

 

Required Course Materials:

                                                   

PSYCHOLOGY 6th Edition [RENTAL EDITION] CICCARELLI, SAUNDRA K. ISBN13: 9780136636847

  

 

Topics to Include:

 

1. The nature-nurture interaction (may include mind-body connection, diversity, and social construction of reality).
2. The fundamentals of social science research (may include varied research methodologies).
3. The active construction of reality (may include altered states of consciousness).
4. The basics of lifespan development (may include cognitive, physical, moral, social and personality development).
5. The fundamentals of learning (may include classical, operant, and observational/cognitive learning paradigms).
6. The understanding of the unique qualities of being human (may include personality theory, psychological health, psychological disorders, psychotherapy, mind-body connections, and selected aspects of evolutionary theory).

 

Course Competencies and Outcomes:

 

In a manner deemed appropriate by the instructor, students should demonstrate the ability to:

 

1. Discuss key concepts as they are manifested in the major fields and theoretical perspectives of psychology. (GE 5, 6, 7; PG2, 3)
2. Apply psychological principles to everyday life by critically evaluating information from a variety of sources. (GE 3, 5, 9; PG 1, 2, 3)
3. Describe sociocultural influences on mental processes, behaviors, and social interactions. (GE 5, 6, 8, 9; PG 2, 3)

 

Grading/Evaluation:

 

Assignment		% of Grade
Discussion Forums	8 @ 5 points	40%
Assignments	3 @ 5 points	15%
Exam 1	1 @ 15 points	15%
Exam 2	1 @ 15 points	15%
Exam 3	1 @ 15 points	15%
		100%

 

 

NUMERICAL GRADE LETTER EQUIVALENTS

Grade	Interpretation	Num. Equivalent
A	Superior	95 -100
A-	Excellent	90 - 94
B+	Excellent	86 – 89
B	Very Good	80 - 85
C+	Above Average	76 - 79
C	Average	70 - 75
D F FN	Poor Fail Fail-No Show	66 – 69               0 - 65

 

 

Assignments

 

Late assignments will not be accepted.  All assignment due dates are clearly posted in the Syllabus and on Canvas. Vacations or lack of internet access at home are not valid excuses; only medical conditions or bereavement are acceptable excuses, and please discuss those conditions with me via e-mail and I will make reasonable accommodations in those cases.

 

1. Discussion Forums: (Eight discussion @ 5 points each)

 

Each graded discussion is mandatory and must be completed under the following guidelines:

 

Your Contributions

Our discussions comprise 40% of your grade for this course.  Online academic discussions should be free of slang, abbreviations, or other non-scholarly forms of written communication. Spell check is a beautiful thing, as is a friend who will proofread for you to make sure you are getting your point across in the way in which you intend.

 

One initial post must be made by midnight on Thursday of each week.  This post is in direct response to the topic I specify and should be a minimum of 250 words.  These topics will often reference a reading from your text and will require considered thought and careful reading. Using material other than your required books is encouraged.  Please use an appropriately formatted APA reference at the end of your post.  The purpose of the discussion forum is to provoke critical thinking and inquiry on the course topics.

 

Two response posts are required by Sunday of each week. These posts must be made on a separate day from your initial post. First response post is made in response to another student's initial post. Second response post is to be made on a different student’s post (either initial post or response post) and cannot be the same student as your first response post. Both of your responses should be a minimum of 100 words.  No APA references are necessary in either response post.  We are, however, striving for a lively discussion of academic subjects, not an Instant Messenger chat.  Posts such as, "I agree with you," or, " Well said," are fine as part of an ongoing discussion, but will not count towards your required contribution.

 

My Contributions

I will read all posts each week (as will you!).

 

1. I will assign credit for your discussions throughout the semester, basing that credit on whether or not you have followed posting directions and contributed in a meaningful manner. I will inform you by email, by grading comments, or in the discussions if your posts are inadequate (lacking in scholarly content, too brief, off topic, etc.).  Inadequate posts may be deleted and will require the poster to make a new post in order to receive credit.  Waiting until the last minute to participate may not leave you time to make corrections or repost if necessary. 
2. I will make every effort to help you correct issues with posts in the first two weeks of the semester. I'll normally email you to let you know there was an issue.  After the first two weeks, however, it's expected that everyone will be on board and understands the rules.

 

CRITICAL THINKING:

This course incorporates critical thinking throughout the curriculum. The rationale behind this is that critical thinking is a topic that requires practice in addition to theory.  The discussion assignments in this course are intentionally designed to assist students to interpret information, consider the influence of context, pose logical arguments, examine existing knowledge, and develop new ideas. 

 

2. Assignments: (15 points)

 

There will be 3 relevant assignments throughout the semester. Details will be provided under the assignments tab. Assignments are due on the Sunday of their assigned week by 11:59pm. Assignments submitted late on canvas will not be accepted (unless otherwise discussed with me prior to the due date).

 

Scholarly writing across all disciplines is one of our goals at SCCC. Topics will relate to the material in our textbook, and will require some real-life application of your knowledge. Your writing should be of a scholarly nature: eliminate use of slang language, back up your answers (where appropriate) with research from your textbook, the Internet, or other readings. Please use your textbook as well as other sources. Make sure your post is substantive. (Substantive: Having a firm basis in reality and therefore important, meaningful, or considerable.)

 

3. Exams: (15 points)

 

You will have three exams throughout the semester worth 15 points each. Each exam will cover specific chapters as noted below and will consist of 30 Multiple Choice Questions (worth 12 points) and 3 Short Answer Questions (worth 3 points). Exam 3 will be administered during Final Exams week. You will be expected to complete this using your text, companion websites, material from discussion, power point slides provided and appropriate outside sources.

           

General information

 

• I will respond to emails usually within 24 to 48 hours (as long as there are no extenuating circumstances on my end). I suggest you complete assignments in advance so as to avoid needing clarification at the last minute on something and being unable to receive it until after a due date.

 

• I will provide PowerPoint slides for each chapter of our textbook.  Feel free to download these and print them (hint: choose the "handouts" option from your printer page to fit multiple slides on each paper) if you need to study away from a computer.

 

• Late assignments will not be accepted!

 

• Late discussion posts will not be credited.  Every post is time and date stamped.

 

 

 

Plagiarism/Cheating/Academic Integrity

Course work can be demanding.  Many students are unpleasantly surprised when they learn that this is doubly so for an online psychology course.  The temptation to take shortcuts may be there, but........... Don't! 

 

In this course, research will be a part of certain assignments. To maintain academic integrity, it is essential that students document all sources used according to the current APA guidelines. This includes both verbal acknowledgment during presentations and written citations in outlines.

Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated. Any instance of plagiarism in this class will result in a grade of zero for the assignment or, depending on the severity of the offense, for the entire course.

Please note that having anyone, whether a human or artificial intelligence, write a paper, speech, discussion board post, or exam on your behalf is also considered plagiarism. All sources must be cited correctly. If you have any questions or concerns about academic honesty, citation, or documentation, feel free to reach out to me. I am more than happy to clarify any doubts you may have. To ensure academic honesty, the instructor may choose to use TurnItIn.com to check student submissions. SCCC subscribes to turnitin.com and the faculty has been known to review work submitted by students from different classes.  Plagiarism or any other violation of academic integrity will result in severe consequences.  Make sure you are familiar with SCCC policy on plagiarism.

 

Assignments with Dates:

WEEK	DUE DAY/DATE	ASSIGNMENT
Week One 9/23-9/29		Chapter 1/2
	Thursday (9/26)	Discussion One – Initial Post Due
	Sunday (9/29)	Discussion One – Responses Due
Week Two 9/30-10/6		Chapter 3/4
	Thursday (10/3)	Discussion Two – Initial Post Due
	Sunday (10/6)	Discussion Two – Responses Due
	Sunday (10/6)	Assignment 1 Due
Week Three 10/7-10/13		Chapter 5
	Sunday (10/13)	Exam 1 Due (Chapters 1-5)
Week Four 10/14-10/20		Chapter 6/7
	Thursday (10/17)	Discussion Three– Initial Post Due
	Sunday (10/20)	Discussion Three – Responses Due
Week Five 10/21-10/27		Chapter 8
	Thursday (10/24)	Discussion Four – Initial Post Due
	Sunday (10/27)	Discussion Four – Responses Due
Week Six 10/28-11/3		Chapter 9
	Thursday (10/31)	Discussion Five – Initial Post Due
	Sunday (11/3)	Discussion Five – Responses Due
	Sunday (11/3)	Assignment 2 Due
Week Seven 11/4-11/10		Chapter 10
	Sunday (11/10)	Exam 2 Due (Chapters 6-10)
Week Eight 11/11-11/17		Chapter 11
	Thursday (11/14)	Discussion Six – Initial Post Due
	Sunday (11/17)	Discussion Six – Responses Due
Week Nine 11/18-11/24		Chapter 12
	Thursday (11/21)	Discussion Seven - Initial Post Due
	Sunday (11/24)	Discussion Seven – Responses Due
Week Ten 11/25-12/1		*****Thanksgiving Break*****
Week Eleven 12/2-12/8		Chapter 13
	Sunday (12/8)	Assignment 3 Due
Week Twelve 12/9-12/15		Chapter 14/15
	Thursday (12/12)	Discussion Eight – Initial Post Due
	Sunday (12/15)	Discussion Eight – Responses Due
Week Thirteen 12/16-12/20	Thursday (12/19)	Exam 3 (Chapters 11-15)